Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments having a reusable handle and a disposable end effector. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an authentication assembly for use in a stapling instrument having a disposable loading unit.
Description of Related Art
Powered surgical instruments for use in endoscopic procedures are known. Typically, such instruments include a reusable handle assembly, and a disposable end effector sometimes referred to as single use loading unit or SULU. An adapter assembly connects the end effector to the handle assembly. In the case of a surgical stapler, the end effector includes a disposable cartridge or loading unit that is changed after each firing of the surgical stapler. To reduce costs and shorten procedure times, the handle assemblies are generally configured for use with a variety of reload assemblies of various configurations for use on tissue having different properties, e.g., thickness and density. For example, the different reload assemblies may have staples of different sizes and/or the staples may be arranged in different configurations. To ensure the handle assembly is programmed to operate with the attached reload assembly, some reload assemblies are provided with an integrated circuit, also known as a chip, that communicates with the handle assembly to identify the configuration of the reload assembly. This arrangement enables the configuration of the loading unit to be automatically conveyed to the handle assembly upon attachment of the loading unit to the adapter assembly, thereby eliminating user error or incompatibility that may be experienced when switching between reload assemblies with different configurations.
Surgical staplers are commonly used for stapling tissue within a body cavity where the end effector is likely to come in contact with fluids, e.g., blood, bile, and/or irrigation solutions. If the interconnections between the chip and the handle assembly are compromised, the chip could malfunction or data communications between the disposable loading unit and the handle assembly could be disrupted, rendering the surgical stapler unstable or inoperable.
A stapling instrument configured to increase the reliability of communications between the disposable loading unit and the handle assembly would be a welcome advance.